Minho shook his head. "You have been cooking this entire time. That already counts as paying me with labor."
"But that is because you took us in..."
Sulwoo looked increasingly anxious watching the two of them politely pushing the payment back and forth.
He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Come on, stop being so polite with each other already! Minho, just tell me what supplies she needs. I will see if I have them."
Hayoon opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.
After thinking for a moment, Minho said, "Go cut some saxaul tree branches and gather some stones suitable for making tools."
Sulwoo looked toward Hayoon and asked, "What kind of tools are you trying to make? Describe them to me."
Seeing this, Hayoon stopped refusing and explained the kind of stones she needed.
"Alright, I remember. I will go cut the trees early tomorrow morning."
Hayoon said, "There is no rush."
After Sulwoo left, she quietly sighed inwardly.
In the beast world, saxaul trees mostly grew along steep slopes. Climbing up and down with only her own two legs really made gathering them difficult.
She had not expected that a single piece of sulfur soap would save her so much trouble.
Hayoon looked at Minho gratefully and silently remembered the favor in her heart.
The next day, Sulwoo truly arrived as promised.
He brought three huge bundles of saxaul branches along with several stones whose shapes roughly matched Hayoon's requirements.
"Take a look. If it is not enough, I can go cut more," Sulwoo said.
Hayoon stared in shock. "This is way more than enough! One piece of sulfur soap is absolutely not worth this many supplies. You should take some back."
Sulwoo refused immediately."It is useless to me even if I bring it back. Just keep it."
Hayoon still firmly shook her head. "No. If you do this, then the standards will become chaotic when other people want to trade things with me in the future."
Sulwoo thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Alright then. I will leave one bundle of saxaul branches for you."
Hayoon nodded repeatedly. "Mm, mm."
Sulwoo then talked about his condition today.
Sure enough, he looked even better than yesterday.
Seeing that the dark circles and eye bags under his eyes had disappeared, restoring him into a radiant handsome man again, Hayoon felt genuinely happy for him.
The next day, she and Minho went together to retrieve the beast-hide bags used for collecting resin.
Now everything was finally prepared.
Resin, saxaul branches, stones, and wood.
She could finally begin making tools.
Under Minho's guidance, Hayoon melted the resin and added saxaul leaf juice before stirring forcefully.
Even before applying it onto the stones, she could already feel how incredibly sticky the resin had become.
"You have to work while it is still hot," Minho said. "Once it hardens, it will not melt easily again."
Hayoon nodded quickly. "Got it!"
Following the plans in her mind, she focused intently while efficiently attaching one stone after another onto wooden handles.
The length and shape of the wooden handles could still be polished later.
The hemp rope bindings would also need to wait until the resin fully dried.
Before long, she had successfully made stone axes, stone shovels, stone hammers, and several other tools.
After finishing them all, Hayoon let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
Looking at the circle of tools spread around her feet filled her with an enormous sense of accomplishment.
"Done! These tools should last me quite a while," Hayoon said happily.
A faint smile also appeared in Minho's eyes.
It was already evening, and the glowing sunset clouds reflected beautifully against his red eyes.
"Mm. I will clean this place up."
Hayoon hurriedly replied, "I can do it myself."
In the end, neither of them managed to clean anything because visitors arrived outside the cave.
The one leading the group is Yeonhwa.
The moment their eyes met, Yeonhwa quickened her pace anxiously as if afraid she might miss something.
Hayoon straightened up and asked in confusion, "What happened?"
Yeonhwa immediately spoke. "Hayoon, I heard you made something called sulfur soap that can kill lice. Then can it kill fleas too?"
Before Hayoon could answer, one of the beastmen behind Yeonhwa spoke up expectantly.
"It should work, right? They are all just annoying little bugs anyway."
Hayoon gave a definite answer. "It can."
Yeonhwa immediately brightened. "That is great! My cub rolls around in mud pits all day long and always comes back filthy. He keeps getting fleas, and we have already shaved his fur so many times. I want to trade for a piece of sulfur soap and use it to bathe him."
Hayoon knew that Yeonhwa already had a mates and their cub was only around five years old.
It was exactly the age when children were energetic, mischievous, and impossible to control.
The cub also could not transform into human form yet.
Imagining a bald little bear cub rolling around in the mud made Hayoon unable to hold back her laughter.
"That is fine. There is still some sulfur soap left from the batch we made a few days ago," she said.
Yeonhwa let out a sigh of relief. "That is wonderful! I brought beast hides, meat, and bird eggs. Take a look and see what you want. Or if you want other supplies instead, you can ask for them too."
Hayoon shook her head lightly. "There is no rush for supplies yet. This batch of soap contains quite a lot of sulfur, so if you are using it for a cub, you need to dilute it with more water. Or wait a couple of days. I can collect more sulfur ore and make another batch specifically for cubs."
Yeonhwa nodded immediately. "Then I will exchange for one piece first. Once you make the kind for cubs, I will come trade again."
Hayoon smiled. "Alright."
Then she looked toward the other beastmen who are waiting eagerly nearby. "What about all of you? Do you want to trade for some too?"